Unai Emery fires Preston North End message to Aston Villa squad just minutes after setting up PSG tie

Aston Villa set up a Champions League quarter-final against PSG on Wednesday but manager Unai Emery is focused on another last eight fixture.

That, according to defender Tyrone Mings, is the clash against Preston North End at the end of this month. The Lilywhites were drawn at home to the Premier League side after beating Lancashire rivals Burnley - ticket sales have flown with a sell-out at Deepdale anticipated.

Villa’s season is very much alive with the club still in Europe’s most prestigious competition - and sitting eighth in the Premier League table, just two points adrift of fifth. Their next match, though, is the Sunday afternoon clash at Deepdale, on March 30.

And the significance of the game is being hammered home by Emery - who has several honours as a manager but none in England. England defender Mings, after Villa knocked out Club Brugge 6-1 on aggregate, was asked how much the Spaniard will be relishing the PSG encounter.

"Oh, absolutely," said Mings to TNT Sports. "Maybe not; I think he's reinforcing at the moment how important Preston away is - our next game in the FA Cup.

“He is very much one game at a time and spoke after the game then - which he doesn't usually do - just to say 'congratulations' and that we should be enjoying what we've achieved tonight, and over the past few months. But, he also reiterated that the last two months of the season have to be our best.”

Preston are the only non-Premier League side still in the FA Cup. Elsewhere, Fulham host Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest head to Brighton and it’s a trip to Bournemouth for Manchester City.

North End have knocked out Burnley, Charlton Athletic and Wycombe Wanderers so far in the competition, while Villa picked up wins over Cardiff, Tottenham and West Ham.

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